Testimony ends in Carona trial

For all its lurid tales and allegations of unchecked greed, the corruption trial of “America’s sheriff” fizzled to a close Friday.

Michael S. Carona, the highest-ranking law enforcement official to be prosecuted in Orange County, has steadfastly denied charges that he sold the powers of his office for cash and gifts, hawked badges for campaign donations and even took advantage of a deputy’s widow by steering her to an attorney friend in a kickback scheme.

But the former sheriff never took the stand. And the final witness called to testify in his legal soap opera was a no-show, underscoring the struggle by his defense team to line up witnesses, some of whom were reluctant to appear at the high-profile trial.

“They don’t want to have their name . . . in the paper,” Carona attorney Brian A. Sun told the judge this week.

Jurors in the federal trial, who have been released for two weeks over the holidays and ordered to return Jan. 6 for closing arguments, will have plenty to ponder during the break.

In the nearly two months since being seated, they heard from about 60 witnesses and listened to hours of secretly recorded conversations that appear to capture Carona plotting to cover up a trail of cash and gifts from former Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl, a Newport Beach businessman and millionaire.

The picture that prosecutors painted of Carona wasn’t a pretty one. And it contrasts sharply with the public image he carefully built during nearly three terms in office, when he rose to political stardom and was dubbed “America’s sheriff” by CNN’s Larry King after leading the manhunt for a little girl’s killer.

Only days into the trial, jurors heard tawdry testimony about Carona’s extramarital affair with local attorney Debra Hoffman, complete with tales of a love nest, getaways to Las Vegas and a secret bank account set up as their future nest egg.

But the star of the government’s case was Haidl, who cooperated with prosecutors for nearly two years as they built their case against the sheriff. As part of a plea agreement on tax charges, Haidl went undercover and recorded three conversations with Carona. The obscenity-laced tapes are considered central evidence in the case, and they were played throughout Haidl’s testimony.

During 10 days of questioning, Haidl told jurors that he laundered at least $30,000 into Carona’s first campaign in 1998, bribed him with $1,000 monthly cash payments, paid for vacations and tailored suits, gave him a boat and allowed him unlimited use of his private yacht and planes. He said he also gave Hoffman $65,000 at Carona’s request, lent her money and helped her lease a Mercedes.

In return, Haidl told jurors, he was given a virtual get-out-of-jail-free card and the full power of the Sheriff’s Department, which allowed him to appoint relatives, friends and associates as reserve deputies who carried official badges. Haidl said Carona made sure his son got preferential treatment in a drug case and exerted his influence -- although unsuccessfully -- to have the teenager tried as a juvenile in a sexual assault case.

Defense attorneys Sun and Jeff Rawitz, white-collar crime specialists with the Jones Day law firm, played portions of the Haidl tapes that they say exonerate their client. They also called 25 witnesses, including philanthropist David Gelbaum and Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas. But no one seemed to directly contradict Haidl’s accusations.

Sun and Rawitz, who are working free of charge for Carona, concentrated on Haidl’s credibility, rather than on the allegations. They tried to show that Haidl was upset that his son ended up being tried as an adult, convicted and sentenced to six years in prison, and was also motivated by his hope for leniency in his own tax case.

The defense also tried to show that Haidl actually got nothing from Carona and that the money and other items given to Carona were gifts between close friends.

Defense lawyers worked to put as much of the blame as possible on another former assistant sheriff, George Jaramillo, who reached a plea agreement with prosecutors and is the source of many of the allegations against Carona. Jaramillo did not testify for the government and was not called by the defense.

Jaramillo was fired by Carona in 2004 and was later prosecuted in an unrelated case for perjury and misusing a county helicopter. He was portrayed, even by government witnesses, as a man corrupted by his hunger for power and money. The defense tried to show that Jaramillo had been seeking revenge against his former boss since he was dismissed.

The trial’s last witness was scheduled to take the stand at 8 a.m. Friday but still had not arrived 90 minutes later. She had promised to be available if called by the defense, but left town before she was summoned and, according to her attorney, was driving back from Arizona.

By the time she arrived, the defense had rested.

christine.hanley@latimes.com